Child Advocate Says Infant Deaths Cause For More Monitoring

JOSH KOVNER, jkovner@courant.com

HARTFORD — A final review of 2013's unusually high death toll of infants and toddlers shows child-protection officials, pediatricians and caregivers must pay closer attention to the youngest children in troubled families, the state Office of the Child Advocate said Thursday.

In her report, Child Advocate Sarah Eagan presents case summaries of some of the 10 homicides of children younger than 3 last year — the highest total in at least a dozen years, and describes another troubling and growing category of infant deaths — unsafe sleeping conditions.

Eagan notes that the Department of Children and Families had open or previous cases with most of the families in which an infant died of unnatural causes.

She said the responsibility of reacting to danger signs in families and safeguarding children doesn't rest solely with DCF and includes doctors, community providers, and other mandated reporters of child abuse. But Eagan said her "review of DCF-involved children or families reveals questions and sometimes significant concerns regarding … ensuring infant safety in high-risk homes."

"Repeatedly, records did not seem to reflect cognizance of the level of risk for an infant in a home with a substance-abusing care giver," Eagan reported.

Eagan and other advocates and child-welfare officials have discussed the 2013 figures at various times this year – because the alarming trends are continuing.

The Courant on June 29 reported on the 22 child-maltreatment deaths over the previous 18 months. Maltreatment deaths include homicides, as well as any other child death in which DCF has substantiated at least one allegation of abuse or neglect against a caregiver.

DCF Commissioner Joette Katz said in June that the department was working with Connecticut's two major children's hospitals to create a team of on-call doctors to assist DCF investigators and other health providers in detecting and responding much earlier to abuse injuries in children. Katz said that at least 400 DCF caseworkers had received additional training in early detection, and that DCF nurses are being trained to convey those techniques to private pediatricians.

The Courant reported in February that infants dying in unsafe sleeping conditions was the leading cause of death of children in DCF-involved families over the previous three years. Katz at the time said DCF social workers were making safe sleep a top priority in home visits and giving cribs to families that needed them. Eagan's office and DCF also issued public information bulletins pushing safe sleep.

Asked about Eagan's report on Thursday, DCF spokesman Gary Kleeblatt referred a reporter to the February and June initiatives.

Eagan reviewed all 82 infant and toddler deaths from 2013 that were reported to the medical examiner. In addition to the 10 homicides, there were 44 natural deaths, 12 accidents and 16 undetermined deaths, many of which involved unsafe sleeping conditions

Eagan's review of abuse and unsafe-sleep deaths showed inconsistencies on the part of DCF caseworkers. The official who monitors DCF's compliance with court-ordered reforms said in his latest quarterly review that social workers were overburdened with caseloads that are twice the national average.